Two Face
I walk down the street in my finest suit. Gray on one side, black on the other. I want to look my best today. Today, commencement begins. There's an end to my old life, and a begining to my new one. Everything is set. Everything is planned. I'm ready for what I'm about to do. Both of us are.
As I walk down Gotham's streets, the emptiness of the city is what scares me. It's barren, dark, and seemingly deserted. Of course, this is only a few blocks from the epicenter. The focal point of the battle that took place here hours ago. I already see people running to and from the shadows. Looters. Criminals.
After a while, I find myself at the docks. My destination. I walk up to dock fourteen, and stop in front of it. I take a deep breath, and ready myself for what I am about to do. Slowly, I reach into my pocket on my suit. I pull out my coin and hold it carefully in my fingers.
"Alright, time to decide." I smile as I flick it into the air, ready to do whatever fate tells me. The coin drops into my palm, and I slap it onto the back of my other hand. I quickly remove my hand and show the face of the coin. "Scarred." I say with a grin. "Perfect." I tuck the coin away safely into my pocket, and pat it softly.
My hands slip into my pants pockets, and I feel my fingers glide across two carefully crafted pieces. My hands curl around the handles, and I pull them from my pocket. Two .22 caliber pistols. To body armor, these things are useless. But where I'm aiming, there won't be any armor to get in the way.
I raise my leg into the air, and I kick the wooden door with everything I have. The door splits into two large chunks, collapsing in on itself. It's all going according to my plan. Just as I hoped.
I step inside the dock building, moving into the dark shadows of the room. Quickly, I hear voices shouting profanity. They sound confident. Sure of themselves. They're about to find out how wrong they are.
"Hey, over here! Someone's in hear!" One of the men yells.
"Get the guns ready!" I hear another shout. "Come on, load em!"
In the dark, men are blind. Their eyes are useless. They must use their other senses to see. Sadly, most men don't know how to rely on them. What a waste of potential. But, lucky for me, it's just another advantage I have.
I watch the men approach through the dim light inside the room. A smile comes across my face as I see the burning embers of a cigar. How foolish. He mind as well put a target on his head.
"Dude, you hear that?" One of the men asks. "I think I hear something."
I take aim on the cigar, knowing exactly what I am about to shoot. With ease and no remorse, I pull back on the trigger. A loud bang rings out inside the room, and immediately, I hear a body drop. I watch as the burning cigar falls to the ground, and rolls lifelessly on the ground.
"Billy!" The other yells. "Dammit, Billy! You okay?" He gets no answer. Billy is dead. And soon, so will he. "Oh, ****! Eric! Eric, hit the damn lights!"
I hear a flick, and suddenly, the room becomes illuminated. There, I see two thugs standing with their guns; one at the end of the room, one right in front of me. They stare at me in shock, surprised to see me.
"Two Face?" One of them says. "What the hell you doin'?"
"Justice." I quickly take aim, and without hesitation, fire. I send two bullets into the man's head, emebeding themselves in his forehead. He lets out a dying groan, and drops to the floor. I look up from his body to see the man known as Eric at the back of the room. He is shaking as he stares at me. I'm sure he's confused.
"Dent!" He shouts. "What the hell!" He grabs his gun from his side and quickly aims to shoot. In one move, I aim for his hand and his leg. I fire from both guns, hoping my aim is as good as I think. I hear him shout out in pain, and watch as his gun drops to the ground.
The man falls to one knee, his other leg compromised. He moans in pain as he tries to get a hold of himself. He's young. Obviously, he's just gotten into the trade. A shame he chose this way. He won't last much longer.
Slowly, I walk across the room to him. I step over the bodies of his friends, their blood dripping out and staining the concrete floor. As I approach the thug, he reaches for his gun. I fire another shot, and hit the gun, sending it sliding across the room. It isn't long before I'm standing over him, looking straight into his eyes. I see fear. I see confusion. I see corruption.
"Two Face?" He asks in confusion. "What are you-"
"Shut up!" I shout, hitting him across the face with the end of one of my guns. He shouts in pain, and his hands fly up to his face. He grabs at his lip intently as the blood begins to drip from his skin. "I ask the questions. Got it?" He nods to me respectfully. Fear is an element you can always use. Lucky for me, I know it well.
"Where's your boss?" I growl, my evil side letting loose.
"He's...he's right in the back." He cowers.
"Any men with him?"
"Just us." He quickly responds. I'm always good at getting the answers I need. Intimidation. Fear's best friend.
"Why only three men? Little short handed for him, isn't it?"
"No one...left." He says, the blood from his lip begining to fill his mouth. "We lost...a lot of men."
"I'm not buying it." I say in a grunt. "Where are the other men?"
"I don't know, okay?" He says with a shiver. "I don't!" I growl in anger. He doesn't know anything. He's just a damn kid. "What are you doing? I thought you were running everything now?" I stare at him with malice. Slowly, I raise my arm and point the gun at him. I drive the barrel into his forehead and sneer.
"I thought I said I was asking the questions." I ask in a dark tone. "Doesn't matter. You're useless to me now, anyway." I slip the saftey off the gun, and put my finger over the trigger. The thug stares at me in utter fear and confusion.
"Don't...d-don't you gotta flip a coin?" He asks in terror. I smirk as my finger pulls back on the trigger softly.
"I already did." I say with a perverted grin. "Your fate was decided before I even walked inside." I pull the trigger and send a hot piece of led into his skull. His body slumps over to the wall, lifeless.
I walk past him and move into the backroom. I can't trust what he told me. Not one bit. He was either naive, or he was covering for his boss. Either way, I'll need to be alert.
I step into the hallway carefully, watching all the things around me. At the end of the hallway is an open door. I hear a laugh. A familiar laugh. One I despise.
I walk down the hallway and stop at the thresh-hold of the door. I check the clips to the gun. Plenty of ammo left. I let out a deep breath, and steady myself. I shove my shoulder into the door and swing it open, hoping to his anyone behind it.
Instantly, I move into the room, putting my back against a wall for protection. All my enemies will be in front of me. A careful maneuver I'm sure the Bat used before.
I hold my guns up, my fingers already pulling back on the triggers. I scope the room and see three men sitting at a table. One of them is him. My target. Staring at me, two of the men at the table rise, and stick their hands into their pockets. Foolish. I'm already to fire.
"Sit down!" I shout. They don't listen, and begin to pull out their weapons. I warned them. I fire four shots, two for each man. The bullets hit them above the shoulders, I don't really care where as long as it's a hit. They groan and gasp for air as they claw at their throats. It only takes seconds for them to drop too.
I cautiously approach the table, staring at my target's back. My gun's are still loaded, and my hands are still ready to fire. I can't be too cautious. Not alone. It's funny. I always thought the Batman was paranoid. Now I know why.
"I was hoping you'd show up." He says with a laugh. "Though I didn't expect this entrance." I take a seat in the chair opposite him. I put one of my guns away, slipping the saftey on it and sliding it into my pocket. I keep my other gun out, resting my arm on the table and keeping the barrel pointed toward him. Like a poison in my mouth, I say his name, snarling as I stare at his ugly face.
"Cobblepot." I sneer.
"Ah, Dent. I'm so proud." He laughs with his annoying voice. "Though, I am curious. If you now control Gotham's crime, why come to me alone?" He sits back in his chair. He's not nervous. We'll have to fix that. "Certainly Gotham's newest mob lord has lackeys and thugs at his disposal?"
"Save it, Cobblepot." I yell. "I'm here for a reason."
"As anyone who shows up unexpectedly and kills my men does." He leans forward, adjusting his monacle. "I take it you've heard about the Bat, yes?"
"I heard." I grunt. "That's why I'm here."
"Ah, planning on taking advantage of his absence?"
"Actually," I say with a smile. "Just the opposite." I ready the gun and it makes a loud intimidating click. Cobblepot looks into my eyes, and sees something disturbing. Something, to him, that is terrifying. I watch as the look of ease on his face fades away, and is quickly replaced by one of panic.
"Whoah, Dent, let's not be hasty. I can give you any money you need. I'm sure there's a deal we can strike."
"I don't want deals." I say in a bellow. "I want justice."
"What?" He asks me confused.
"The Batman is gone. Killed by men like you. Gotham lost a protector today." I smile, leaning forward. "But it also gained a new one. Me."
"Oh, come on, Dent. You plan on going straight? On cleaning this place up, now?" He says in disgust. "Dent, you control Gotham! You rule this town! Don't screw it up, now!"
"Who says I want it?" I ask him. "I've had a change of heart. Things are going differently from now on."
"You just killed five of my men! I don't see any change."
"I said change of heart. Not change in method." With my free hand, I pull out the coin from my pocket. I hold it above the table aways, and release it. It hits the table, and begins to spin.
"What are you doing, Dent?" He asks me, his eyes locked on the spinning coin.
"Choosing your fate." As I say the words, I can almost feel the fear emit from his body. He shakes in his seat, and nervously, he breathes heavily.
"Dent...can't we work this out? I can give you money."
"I don't want money." I say, watching the coin spin.
"I can give you men! Power! Anything!"
"Shut up, Penguin. Groveling only makes you seem more pathetic than you already are." He's desperate. Scared. I could take anything I wanted from him right now. He'd willing give it. Anything to save his own hide. But, that's the point. I can't be bribed or bought. That's something that's inconcievable. Something truly frightening.
"Dent, please..." suddenly, the coin stops it's spin. It tumbles on the table top, and comes to a final stop, revealing the decision. He smiles in relief as he stares at the face. His fate is decided. "*Waugh* *Waugh* *Waugh* Heads. Heads!"
"You're lucky, Penguin." I say, rising from my seat. I pick up the coin with one hand, and clutch it in my fist. I raise my other arm and aim the gun at his shoulder. His face quickly goes to shock as I pull the trigger, and send a bullet into the fatty tissue of his arm.
"*Augh*!" He shouts in pain, falling to the ground from his chair. "I thought you said...I was lucky! The coin was clean, Dent!" He winces, grabbing his shoulder in pain. "Clean!" I simply smile at him as I slip the saftey on the gun with my finger.
"You'll live." I say coldly. I step toward him, towering over his small and feeble body as he shakes in panic. "You're going to do something for me." I put the gun under his chin, and raise his head so I can look into his eyes. "Got it?" He nods to me, his body shaking as the blood drips from his wound.
"Good." I say with a smile. "You're going to spread the word. All across Gotham. Across the whole damn world. You're going to tell every lowlife, every mob boss, every crimelord that Harvey Dent is out. Two Face isn't looking for a trade, a bargain, a deal, nothing. He's out for justice. And anyone who dares to defy me will die. Got that?"
"Y-yes..." He says as he shakes and shivers.
"Good man." I say, pulling the gun away from his head. "This is my city, now. I rule it. No more crime. No more corruption. I'm gunning for anyone who dares defy those rules. And mark my words, Cobblepot, if I find anyone is trying to kill this city," I say, my face changing to a growl. I slip the saftey off the gun and in a flash fire a bullet randomly through the room. "Well...you get the picture, right?" He nods furiously, his head shaking as he does it. I smile to him as I slip the saftey back on.
"Good man. Good man."
"Dent, you're...y-you're insane, you know that?" He says to me, his mind in shock.
"Of course I'm insane, Ozzy." I say in a frightening pleasent voice. "I'm Two Face, remember?"With a quick whip I strike him across the face with the handle of the gun. The blow knocks him unconcious, and he falls to the ground motionless.
I laugh as I head for the door, making my exit from this dumpy hide out. I told them, things would change. This is my warning. This is their last chance to go straight. Harvey Dent is Gotham's new protector. And he won't take any prisoners.
